Newly elected President Maduro in 2013. Demotix/ Filippo Florini. All rights reserved. One of the challenges of the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela today is how to advance towards a communal state in the context of the ongoing reproduction of speculative capitalism, a fall in oil prices, and a relentless counter revolution, the extreme elements of which episodically resort to violent attempts at extra-constitutional regime change.
This challenge is clear to all of the currents within Chavismo. It is equally clear that advancing the Bolivarian cause requires a stepped up government counter-offensive against speculative capital in order to close the circle of the import, distribution, and point of sale of basic goods and curtail the further devaluation of the bolivar. Hugo Chávez Frías was well aware of the difficulties and opportunities for making progress towards democratic socialism in the context of a capital system and an opposition bent on restoring oligarchic privilege, and he took these issues into account in hammering out his vision for the next stage of the Bolivarian revolution. This essay aims at a first approximation of the political theory of Chávez with regard to the transition to 21st century socialism in Venezuela, and in particular, the role of the commune in such a transition.
State and commune
In his last published interview with Venezuelan journalist Jose Vicente Rangel, Chávez was asked what power meant to him. Chávez replied:
